popular culture

What could James Dobson’s Focus on the Family and the League of Women Voters possibly have in common? They’re both members of a coalition to raise awareness of the devastating effects of, and to block, state-sponsored casino gambling in Massachusetts.

Can a survey capture the true nature of the sacred in America? What if the Super Bowl, kinky sex, science, Elvis, Viagra, and the iPhone hold the keys to understanding the sacred and its role in the lives of millions of Americans as they reckon with suffering and ecstasy, reproduction and aging, family and conflict, health and death?

While the family of a 9-year-old incest victim’s abortion is excommunicated, the perpetrator never even made it to the ecclesial radar screen. Let this case signal the end of any credible claim to authority of bishops and the dawn of a new era when local communities determine their own members. I daresay the world will be a safer, kinder place.

Religious groups are discovering that Twitter can help to build a portable church, where believers can obey the timeworn injunction to “pray without ceasing”—or is it “tweet without ceasing”?

The co-authors of the eschatological Left Behind series appeared on the Rachel Maddow show to offer a variation on the theory that Obama may be the Antichrist.

Two current exhibits in Rome hint at the disturbing subtext of Darwin’s theories and the root of religious opposition to them.

A recent RD story on Mormon Mommy Bloggers sparked debate in LDS blogs and revealed a community in transition. What exactly is the “Bloggernacle”—and are “Mormon Mommy Bloggers” a part of it? And what happens to a church built on gathering when the internet becomes the primary meeting space?

As the old guard retires, a generational challenge emerges for the Christian Right. Who can lead a movement whose constituency no longer agrees with its core tenets?

A new book of essays argues that the American media suffers due to secularism and a general ignorance of religion. But is secularism really at the heart of it, or is it a far broader and longer-standing relationship with ignorance of our “enemies” that creates the Blind Spot?

Christian Security Network; The Rev. Lowery & The Rev. Moon Cross Paths; Economic Crisis May Downsize Death Penalty; Christian Author’s $10,000 Challenge; and Conservatives in Hollywood donate to McCain/Palin.